Temporary Imports & ATA Carnets — Trade Fairs, Equipment and Returnable Packaging

Most of the customs system is built around a single moment: the moment goods are entered for consumption and the duty point crystallises. Temporary importation is the deliberate exception. It allows goods to cross the Zimbabwean frontier, be used here for a defined purpose and a defined period, and then leave again without the import duties, surtax and value-added tax ever becoming a final charge — provided the goods are re-exported in the condition and within the time the Commissioner fixes. The governing provision is Section 124 of the Customs and Excise Act [Chapter 23:02], headed "Temporary imports free of duty", which empowers the Commissioner of Customs to permit the temporary importation of goods "without payment of duty thereon on importation for the purpose of being repaired or for any other purpose approved by him", and to finally remit the duties ordinarily payable if the goods are exported "within a period fixed by him, which period shall not exceed twelve months", on proof of export.

The single most important idea in this lesson is that temporary importation is a suspension, not a forgiveness. The duty liability is not extinguished at the border; it is held in abeyance and secured. Where the importer fails to re-export within the fixed period, the goods are treated as entered for consumption and the full duty crystallises retrospectively to the value at the time of importation. The mechanism that protects the revenue during the suspension is security — a cash deposit, a bond with an approved surety, or a guarantee — taken under Section 217 (security for due observance of the Act), Section 83 (security on removal/handling referenced throughout the General Regulations), and the specific security requirements in the Customs and Excise General Regulations. A clearing agent who treats a temporary import as "duty-free" rather than "duty-suspended-and-secured" exposes the client to the full charge plus penalties when the deadline passes.

The statutory scaffolding around Section 124 is dense and must be read together. Section 40(2)(a) dispenses with the ordinary bill of entry where "goods are imported temporarily", allowing entry "in such other manner as may be prescribed or… as the Commissioner may direct" — which is why temporary admissions are cleared on declarations and a Temporary Import Permit (TIP) style instrument rather than a full Form 21. Section 40(3) confirms that "duty" for entry purposes includes the import tax payable under the Value Added Tax Act [Chapter 23:12], so the security must cover suspended VAT on importation as well as duty and surtax. Section 120(3)(b) lets the Commissioner remit all or part of the duty on goods temporarily imported under Section 124 that are seriously damaged by accident or circumstances beyond the importer's control. Section 226(a) proviso (iii) preserves the importer's right to enter the goods later under a conditional suspension, rebate or remission "notwithstanding that the goods were temporarily imported in terms of section one hundred and twenty-four". And on the way out, Section 54 proviso (i) dispenses with the export bill of entry where prescribed goods "are to be exported temporarily" or "are to be exported after having been imported under special temporary clearance arrangements".

Alongside the bare Section 124 discretion sit the named temporary-admission rebates in the General Regulations, each with its own conditions, security and time limit. Regulation 104 grants a rebate for tourists importing goods (including vehicles of headings 87.02, 87.03, 87.04 and 87.11) for personal use, on security, to be exported on departure or within 12 months. Regulation 106 covers commercial travellers' samples imported solely to take orders, on a deposit covering the duty, to be exported within 12 months or entered for consumption. Regulation 133 covers samples imported for destructive testing. Regulation 140 is the heavyweight: a rebate for goods temporarily imported by contractors for an approved project, where the completion horizon "will not exceed 5 years" — a far longer window than Section 124's twelve months, granted by Ministerial project approval. Each regime answers the same question — how do we let goods in without taxing them, while making sure they actually leave? — but with different actors, securities and deadlines.

The international counterpart of all this is the ATA Carnet — the "passport for goods". An ATA Carnet is an international customs document, issued under the ATA Convention (Brussels, 1961) and the Istanbul Convention on Temporary Admission (1990), administered by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and guaranteed through the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) World Chambers Federation guarantee chain, that allows professional equipment, commercial samples and exhibition goods to move temporarily across the borders of participating countries without lodging local security at each frontier — the carnet's international guarantee stands in place of the local bond. Whether a carnet can be presented at Beitbridge or Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport depends on whether Zimbabwe is a contracting party to the relevant Convention and a member of the ICC guarantee chain — a point this lesson treats with care and flags for verification, because presenting a carnet at a border that does not accept it leaves the trader with no clearance at all. Where the carnet is not available, the domestic route — Section 124 plus the General Regulations, backed by local security — is the operative mechanism.

This lesson sits late in the reliefs, deferrals and procedures arc of the chapter. Having mastered Rebates of Duty (the Part XI relief family), Refunds, Remissions & Bonds, Export Drawback, Bonded Warehouses and Deferred Clearances (RIB/RIT, T1), and having learned in Exportation how goods lawfully leave Zimbabwe, we now combine those threads: temporary importation is duty suspended (like warehousing and transit) but tied to a re-export obligation (like drawback in reverse) and secured by a bond (like deferred clearance). Master it and you understand how Zimbabwe hosts the Harare Agricultural Show exhibitor, the mining contractor's leased drill rig, the broadcaster's outside-broadcast van and the traveller's caravan — all without permanently taxing goods that were never destined to stay.

At first glance, temporary importation looks like a contradiction. The entire architecture of customs exists to collect duty on goods imported into Zimbabwe: Section 38 forbids importation without entry, Section 39 fixes when entry must be made, and the Tariff Notice prescribes the rate. Why, then, would the law create a doorway through which goods pass without paying?

The answer lies in the economic purpose of an import duty. A customs duty is, in substance, a tax on goods entering the domestic market for consumption. It protects local industry, raises revenue and regulates trade — but all of those rationales assume the goods are staying to be used, sold or consumed in Zimbabwe. Goods that enter only to be repaired and returned, exhibited and removed, used on a project and re-exported, or driven around by a visiting tourist and driven out again never enter the domestic market for consumption at all. To tax them as if they had would be to over-tax: it would penalise legitimate cross-border activity, deter exhibitions, conferences, film shoots, contract works and tourism, and tax the same machine twice (once here, once in its home country). Temporary importation is the customs system's way of distinguishing goods that come to stay from goods that come to visit.

But the system cannot simply take the importer's word that the goods will leave. If it waved temporary imports through duty-free on a promise, every importer would call every consignment "temporary" and re-export nothing. So the law builds in three disciplines, and these three disciplines are the spine of the entire topic:

1. A defined, approved purpose. Section 124 does not grant open-ended duty-free entry; it permits temporary importation "for the purpose of being repaired or for any other purpose approved by [the Commissioner]". The purpose must be one customs recognises as genuinely temporary — repair, exhibition, demonstration, testing, a contract, a tour.
2. A fixed time limit. The suspension is not indefinite. Under Section 124 the maximum is twelve months; under the project rebate (regulation 140) it can run to the project's completion, not exceeding five years. Time is of the essence: when it expires, the suspension collapses into a full charge.
3. Security equal to the suspended charge. Because the revenue is at risk for the whole period the goods are in the country, customs takes security — a deposit or bond — equal to the duty, surtax and VAT that would be payable. If the goods leave on time, the security is released; if they do not, it is forfeited or applied to the duty.

Where ZIMRA's enforcement interest is highest is precisely at the seams of these three disciplines: temporary imports that overstay their period and quietly enter the domestic economy; "tourist" vehicles that are sold to residents without duty; exhibition goods and samples that are disposed of locally rather than re-exported; and "repair" or "project" goods whose security is too small because the suspended VAT-on-import was left out of the calculation. Every one of these is a revenue leak the topic is designed to plug.

Where temporary importation sits in the relief family

It is worth fixing temporary importation precisely against its neighbours, all of which you have already studied:

• Bonded warehousing suspends duty while goods sit in a licensed warehouse inside Zimbabwe, with the duty point deferred until the goods are entered for home consumption or exported. Temporary importation also suspends duty, but the goods are released into use (not locked in a warehouse) and the expectation is re-export, not eventual home consumption.
• Removal in transit (RIT/T1) suspends duty on goods merely passing through Zimbabwe to another country. Temporary importation differs because the goods stop and are used here before leaving.
• Drawback refunds duty already paid when goods are subsequently exported. Temporary importation avoids the payment in the first place — it is, in effect, drawback arranged in advance, with security replacing the refund.
• Rebates (Part XI) relieve duty on goods that stay (e.g., capital goods for industry). The temporary-admission rebates (regs 104, 106, 140) are a special branch where the relief is conditional on the goods leaving again.

Understanding temporary importation as "duty suspended + re-export obligation + security" — the synthesis of warehousing's suspension, drawback's export trigger and deferred clearance's bond — is the conceptual key to the whole lesson.

Temporary importation is governed by a core enabling section, a cluster of supporting Act sections, a set of named General Regulations, and an international Convention layer. We take each in turn, by section, regulation and article number, grounding every specific in the source instruments.

B.1 The core enabling provision — Section 124 of the Customs and Excise Act [Chapter 23:02]

Section 124, "Temporary imports free of duty", is short and discretionary, and every word carries weight:

"The Commissioner may, under such conditions as he thinks fit, permit the temporary importation of goods without payment of duty thereon on importation for the purpose of being repaired or for any other purpose approved by him, and may finally remit the duties ordinarily payable on such goods if they are exported from Zimbabwe within a period fixed by him, which period shall not exceed twelve months, upon proof to his satisfaction of such export." (Section amended by Act 17 of 1999.)

Dissect it clause by clause:

• "The Commissioner may… permit" — temporary importation is a discretionary administrative permission, not a right. There is no automatic entitlement; the trader applies and the Commissioner (or a delegated proper officer) decides.
• "under such conditions as he thinks fit" — the Commissioner attaches conditions to each permission: the security amount, the identification of the goods (serial numbers, photographs), the permitted use, the border of exit, and the deadline.
• "without payment of duty thereon on importation" — the duty is not collected at the border. Read with Section 40(3), "duty" here includes the VAT-on-import payable under the VAT Act, and read with the customs tariff it includes surtax. All three charges are suspended, not just the customs duty.
• "for the purpose of being repaired or for any other purpose approved by him" — repair is the named example; "any other purpose approved" opens the door to exhibitions, demonstrations, testing, contract works, professional equipment, film and broadcast, sporting and cultural events, and tourism, subject to approval.
• "may finally remit the duties… if they are exported… within a period fixed by him… not exceed[ing] twelve months" — the suspension becomes a final remission (i.e., the charge is permanently waived) only on re-export within the fixed period, and the statutory ceiling on that period is twelve months. The Commissioner may fix a shorter period; he may not exceed twelve months under this section.
• "upon proof to his satisfaction of such export" — remission is evidence-dependent: the importer must prove the goods actually left (export bill of entry / endorsed TIP / officer's certification at the exit border). No proof, no remission.

The structure is therefore: suspend at entry → secure → use for the approved purpose → re-export within ≤12 months → prove export → remit finally. Break the chain at any link and the duty crystallises.

B.2 Supporting Act provisions

• Section 40(2)(a) — entry formalities relaxed. Where "goods are imported temporarily", the ordinary presentation of a bill of entry may be dispensed with and "entry may be effected in such other manner as may be prescribed or… as the Commissioner may direct." This is the statutory basis for clearing temporary admissions on a declaration / Temporary Import Permit rather than a full Form 21.
• Section 40(3) — "duty" includes import VAT. For Section 40 purposes, "'duty' includes any import tax which is payable in terms of the Value Added Tax Act [Chapter 23:12]" (definition amended by Act 12 of 2002). Critical for sizing security: the suspended charge to be secured is duty + surtax + VAT-on-import, not duty alone.
• Section 120(3)(b) — remission where temporarily imported goods are damaged. The Commissioner may, "under such conditions as he may specify, remit all or part of the duty due on goods temporarily imported in terms of section one hundred and twenty-four which have been seriously damaged by accident or circumstances beyond the control of the importer." This is the safety valve where, e.g., a leased rig is destroyed in an accident before it can be re-exported.
• Section 226(a) proviso (iii) — later conditional entry preserved. Goods "shall be eligible for entry under a conditional tariff suspension or a conditional suspension, rebate or remission of duty notwithstanding that the goods were temporarily imported in terms of section one hundred and twenty-four." So a temporary import can later be regularised under a different relief if the trader decides to keep the goods and a relief applies.
• Section 54 proviso (i) — export side relaxed. On exportation, the bill of entry may be dispensed with where "(a) certain prescribed goods are to be exported temporarily; or (b) goods are to be exported after having been imported under special temporary clearance arrangements", entry being effected "in such other manner as the Commissioner may direct." This closes the loop: just as temporary imports enter without a full Form 21, they may leave without a full Form 22.
• Section 217 / Section 83 — security. Section 217 empowers the Commissioner to require any importer (and agents and carriers) to "give security to the Commissioner's satisfaction for the due observance of all relevant provisions of this Act". Section 83 (the removal/handling security repeatedly cross-referenced in the General Regulations) and Section 217 together supply the legal authority for the bond or deposit that secures the suspended charge.
• Section 121 — burden of proof on the claimant. "When any claim is made for exemption from or drawback, rebate, refund or remission of any duty… the burden of proof shall lie upon the claimant." The importer must prove entitlement to the relief and prove the re-export; customs need not prove the goods stayed.

B.3 The named temporary-admission regimes — Customs and Excise General Regulations

The General Regulations operationalise temporary admission through specific, condition-laden rebate sections. Each must be read as a self-contained code:

• Regulation 24(1)(c) — value declaration dispensed with. An importer "need not complete nor submit" a value declaration (Forms 53A etc.) for goods "imported temporarily under Section 124 of the Act", unless specifically requested. Temporary admissions are documentarily lighter than home-consumption entries.
• Regulation 104 — rebate of duty for tourists. A "tourist" is "any person who is not resident in Zimbabwe but travels to Zimbabwe for a period of time specified at the time of his arrival." A rebate may be granted on goods "temporarily imported into Zimbabwe by a tourist for his own personal use, but not for disposal, trade or commercial purposes", including "vehicles" of Customs Tariff Headings 87.02, 87.03, 87.04 and 87.11 (with provisos excluding 15+ passenger buses under 87.02 and over-5-tonne GVW vehicles under 87.04). Key conditions: the Commissioner may require security to cover the duty pending export or payment (reg 104(3)); no disposal to residents without prior written permission and full duty on the value at importation (reg 104(4)–(5)); goods must be exported on the tourist's first departure or within 12 months of importation, or entered for consumption with full duty (reg 104(10)); a damaged vehicle may be surrendered unconditionally to the Commissioner for remission (reg 104(2) proviso, (8)).
• Regulation 106 — rebate for travellers' (commercial) samples. A rebate "shall be granted in respect of bona fide samples imported by commercial travellers visiting Zimbabwe and intended solely for use in the taking of orders and not for sale." The traveller must represent a firm established outside Zimbabwe (reg 106(2)); samples must not be for sale or copying (reg 106(4)); they are produced to an officer with a duplicate list for identification (reg 106(5)–(8)); a deposit sufficient to cover the duty is lodged (reg 106(9)); and if not exported within 12 months (or a shorter period specified) the samples must be entered for consumption with full duty on the value at importation (reg 106(10)–(11)).
• Regulation 133 — rebate for samples imported for destructive testing. A rebate is granted for "samples imported for destructive testing, in such quantities as may be approved", on a certificate that they are imported "solely for destructive testing" (reg 133(2)). Because destructively tested goods cannot be re-exported (they are consumed in the test), this regime relieves rather than secures-for-export — the relief follows the genuine, evidenced destruction.
• Regulation 140 — rebate for goods temporarily imported for an approved project. This is the principal commercial/industrial temporary-admission route. A rebate may be granted on goods "temporarily imported by contractors or other persons for completion of such projects as may have been approved by the Minister", excluding goods for consumption. The application must state the goods, the purpose, "the date on which the project will be completed, which will not exceed 5 years", and the re-export date (reg 140(2)). No disposal without permission and full duty (reg 140(3)); a depreciated lesser duty may be allowed (reg 140(3)–(4)); goods must be removed at the expiry date unless extended (reg 140(5)); overstaying goods are liable to seizure (reg 140(6)). Note the headline contrast: up to 5 years for an approved project versus 12 months under bare Section 124.
• Regulation 141 (contrast — NOT temporary) and Regulation 142 (EPZ capital equipment). Regulation 141 relieves goods "for incorporation in the construction of approved projects" — these become a permanent part of the project and are not re-exported (if not used, the rebate is repaid in full). Regulation 142 relieves capital equipment for an export processing zone. These sit beside the temporary regimes and are routinely confused with them; the distinguishing test is always does the relief depend on the goods leaving again?
• Clearance method for temporary admissions. The General Regulations prescribe that "travellers samples, tourists effects and tourist vehicles imported temporarily" are cleared by "the completion and submission… of such declarations as [the officer] may require" and by "the furnishing of such security, for the exportation of the goods or vehicles within 12 months from the date of their importation… or for the payment of duty failing exportation within that period, as the officer may demand", with a proviso excluding goods already granted a listed rebate. This is the practical clearance gateway for temporary admissions.

B.4 The international layer — ATA Carnets, the ATA/Istanbul Conventions and the WTO/RKC commitments

• ATA Convention (Brussels, 1961) and the Istanbul Convention on Temporary Admission (1990) — the WCO instruments under which the ATA Carnet ("Admission Temporaire / Temporary Admission") operates. A carnet is an international customs document and international guarantee that substitutes for local security in participating countries, covering principally professional equipment, goods for exhibitions/fairs, and commercial samples. The guarantee chain is operated by the ICC World Chambers Federation, with a National Guaranteeing Association in each member country.
• Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) — its Specific Annex G addresses temporary admission, recommending standardised procedures, time limits and the use of security or carnets. The RKC is the global best-practice template Zimbabwe's Section 124 regime broadly tracks.
• WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) — encourages expedited, predictable procedures; temporary admission of professional and exhibition goods is a recognised facilitation measure.
• Zimbabwe's accession status. Whether a presented ATA Carnet will be honoured at a Zimbabwean border turns on whether Zimbabwe has acceded to the ATA/Istanbul Convention and joined the ICC guarantee chain. The source documents in this archive (the Act and the General Regulations) govern the domestic security-based temporary-admission route under Section 124 and do not establish carnet acceptance.

We now build the topic from its foundations, defining every term of art on first use and tracing every variation.

C.1 The four building-block concepts

Temporary admission (temporary importation). The customs procedure under which certain goods can be brought into a customs territory conditionally relieved from import duties and taxes, on the basis that they are imported for a specific purpose and are intended for re-exportation within a specified period and without having undergone any change except normal depreciation due to use. In Zimbabwe the domestic vehicle for this is Section 124 read with the General Regulations.

Conditional relief vs final remission. At the border the charge is conditionally relieved — suspended on conditions. It becomes a final remission (permanently waived) only when the re-export condition is satisfied and proved. If the condition fails, the relief never finalises and the charge falls due.

Security (bond / deposit / guarantee). The financial instrument by which the importer guarantees the suspended charge. Three forms appear in practice: a cash deposit (refunded on proof of export), a surety bond (an approved insurer/bank undertakes to pay the suspended charge if the goods are not re-exported), and, internationally, an ATA Carnet guarantee (the ICC chain stands as surety). Security must equal duty + surtax + VAT-on-import — the full suspended charge — because Section 40(3) folds import VAT into "duty".

Identification. Because the same goods must leave that entered, customs records identifying features at import — serial numbers, chassis/engine numbers, weights, photographs, seals — so that at export the officer can confirm the very goods are being re-exported and not substituted. Identification is the practical guarantee against the "swap" fraud (import a new machine temporarily, re-export an old one, sell the new one locally).

C.2 The duty-suspension logic, layer by layer

Layer 1 — the intuition. A machine that comes for a 3-month repair contract and leaves was never a domestic sale; taxing it fully would be double taxation and a barrier to trade. So we hold the tax in suspense.

Layer 2 — the statutory rule. Section 124 permits the suspension for an approved purpose and a fixed period ≤12 months, with final remission on proof of export. Section 40(2) relaxes the entry form; Section 40(3) folds in VAT; Sections 217/83 authorise security.

Layer 3 — the operational reality. ZIMRA clears the goods on a Temporary Import Permit (TIP) / declaration (not a Form 21 for home consumption), records identifying detail, takes security computed on the full suspended charge, and diarises the deadline. At export the goods are produced, identified, the TIP is acquitted, and the security is released.

Layer 4 — the exceptions. Damage (Section 120(3)(b)) can trigger remission without export; surrender (reg 104(8) for tourist vehicles) substitutes abandonment for export; later regularisation (Section 226(a) proviso (iii)) lets the importer keep the goods under another relief; destructive testing (reg 133) relieves goods that by nature cannot leave.

C.3 Enumerating the variations

Temporary importation is not one procedure but a family, and the examinable skill is matching the right regime to the facts.

By purpose / actor:

Scenario	Governing route	Headline time limit	Security
Goods imported for repair and return	Section 124	≤ 12 months (Commissioner-fixed)	Bond/deposit = suspended charge
Professional / project equipment for an approved project (drill rigs, cranes, plant)	reg 140	Project completion, ≤ 5 years	Bond; depreciated duty on disposal
Tourist's goods and vehicle (caravan, car)	reg 104	Export on departure / 12 months	Security may be required; surrender option for damaged vehicle
Commercial travellers' samples (order-taking)	reg 106	12 months	Deposit covering the duty
Samples for destructive testing	reg 133	n/a (consumed in test)	Certificate; relief on proof of destruction
Exhibition / demonstration goods, broadcast/film equipment	Section 124 "other approved purpose" (carnet abroad)	≤ 12 months	Bond/deposit; carnet where accepted

By mode of transport. The substance of temporary admission is mode-neutral, but the paperwork changes. Road (the dominant mode at Beitbridge, Forbes, Plumtree, Chirundu): the TIP/declaration is raised at the land border and acquitted at the same or another land border on exit. Air (RGM International, Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International, Victoria Falls): professional/broadcast equipment arrives on an Air Waybill (AWB) and is cleared on a TIP at the airport customs office. Rail: goods on a rail manifest under Section 24 are entered temporarily at the rail terminal. Post/courier: low-value temporary items are rare; samples usually come as accompanied baggage. In every case the identification and security logic is identical; only the transport document (Bill of Lading, AWB, rail manifest, road manifest) differs.

By taxpayer group (developed fully in section F): individual tourists (reg 104), commercial travellers (reg 106), SME contractors and large corporates (Section 124 / reg 140), and event organisers (Section 124 approved purpose).

C.4 The re-export obligation and what happens when it fails

The re-export obligation is the heart of the bargain. Three failure modes, three consequences:

1. Overstay — the goods are not re-exported by the deadline. Consequence: they are deemed entered for consumption; the full duty, surtax and VAT crystallise on the value at the time of importation (regs 104(10), 106(10)); the security is applied to the charge; and, for project goods, the goods become liable to seizure (reg 140(6)).
2. Disposal in Zimbabwe — the goods are sold, hired, lent or pledged to a resident without permission. Consequence: full duty becomes payable and the goods are liable to seizure (regs 104(4)–(5), 140(3)). This is treated as a serious breach because it is the classic revenue-evasion route.
3. Loss or destruction — the goods are destroyed by accident before export. Consequence: the Commissioner may remit all or part of the duty under Section 120(3)(b) (for Section 124 goods) or accept surrender of a damaged vehicle under reg 104(8), on proof.

C.5 The relationship with VAT-on-import, surtax and excise

A temporary import suspends the whole import tax stack, not just customs duty:

• Customs duty — suspended; remitted on re-export.
• Surtax — where the tariff line carries surtax, it is suspended and secured alongside duty.
• VAT on importation under Section 6(1)(b) read with Section 12A of the VAT Act [Chapter 23:12] — because Section 40(3) folds import VAT into "duty", the suspended VAT must be included in the security. The standard VAT rate is 15.5% with effect from 1 January 2026 and is applied to the Duty Paid Value (DPV) (customs value + duty + surtax + excise) for security-sizing purposes.
• Excise — temporarily imported excisable goods (rare, e.g., a demonstration vehicle) suspend excise too, but excisable consumables (fuel, alcohol, tobacco) are poor candidates for temporary admission because they are typically consumed, not re-exported.

The practical lesson for the clearing agent: size the security on the full DPV-plus-VAT charge, never on duty alone. A bond that omits the 15.5% VAT is under-secured, and ZIMRA will not finalise the clearance.

This section traces a temporary admission end to end, from the importer's application to the acquittal of the security on re-export. Numbering lets you follow a real clearance.

D.1 Pre-arrival / application stage

1. Determine eligibility and route. The agent identifies which regime fits: bare Section 124 (repair, exhibition, demonstration, professional equipment), reg 140 (approved project), reg 104 (tourist), reg 106 (commercial samples), or reg 133 (destructive testing). For an approved project, confirm the Ministerial approval exists before importation (reg 140(1)–(2)).
2. Apply for the temporary import permission. Under Section 124 the importer applies to the Commissioner/proper officer, stating the goods, the purpose, the intended use, the place and date of intended re-export, and the requested period (≤12 months; ≤5 years for reg 140). The Commissioner sets the conditions (Section 124).
3. Assemble supporting documents: the commercial invoice or pro-forma / lease agreement (to value the goods for security), the Bill of Lading / Air Waybill / road manifest, a packing list, the project approval (reg 140) or traveller declaration (reg 104/106), serial/chassis numbers and photographs for identification, and any import-control permit the goods require (a temporary import does not waive prohibited/restricted-goods controls — a temporarily imported firearm, radio transmitter or controlled chemical still needs its permit).

D.2 Clearance at the border / port (ASYCUDA World)

4. Lodge the declaration in ASYCUDA World under the appropriate Customs Procedure Code (CPC) for temporary importation. (CPCs are the coded purpose of a declaration that drive duty treatment; the temporary-admission CPC signals suspension-with-security rather than home-consumption payment.)

5. Attach the documents to the declaration: invoice/lease, BL/AWB, packing list, identification (serials, photos), project approval or traveller declaration, and any control permit.

6. Valuation for security. Under Section 124 the value declaration is dispensed with (reg 24(1)(c)), but customs still needs a value to size the security. The officer establishes the customs value (VDP) on the invoice/lease/transaction value and computes the suspended duty + surtax + VAT that the security must cover.
7. System risk-targeting routes the declaration to a lane: Green (release, no intervention — unusual for temporary admissions), Yellow (documentary check of the invoice, purpose and identification) or Red (physical examination — the norm for temporary admissions, because identification of the actual goods is essential to acquittal). At Red, the officer physically verifies and records the serial/chassis numbers against the declaration.
8. Lodge security. The importer provides the cash deposit, surety bond or guarantee (Sections 217/83) equal to the full suspended charge. For tourists and samples the General Regulations expressly authorise security/deposit for export within 12 months or payment failing export (regs 104(3), 106(9)).
9. Issue the Temporary Import Permit / acquittal document recording the goods, their identification, the secured amount, the expiry date, and the place of intended re-export. Customs releases the goods into the importer's use.

D.3 During the stay

10. Use only for the approved purpose. The goods may be used for the permitted purpose only. No sale, hire, lease, loan or pledge to a resident without prior written permission and payment of full duty (regs 104(4), 140(3)).
11. Watch the clock. The agent diarises the expiry. If more time is needed, apply for an extension before expiry (reg 140(5) contemplates extension; under Section 124 the total may not exceed 12 months, so a genuinely longer need must be re-routed, e.g., to reg 140 for a project, or the goods entered for consumption).

D.4 Re-export and acquittal

12. Present the goods for export at the nominated border. Under Section 54 proviso (i) the full export bill of entry may be dispensed with; entry for export is effected as the Commissioner directs (commonly by acquitting the TIP).
13. Identify the goods. The export officer checks the serial/chassis numbers and photographs against the TIP to confirm the same goods are leaving. Mismatch stops the acquittal.
14. Acquit the security. On confirmed re-export within the period, the officer endorses proof of export; the Commissioner finally remits the suspended duty (Section 124) and the security is released/refunded. The burden of proving export lies on the importer (Section 121).
15. If not re-exported in time: the goods are entered for consumption, the full duty + surtax + VAT on the import-time value is assessed and paid (regs 104(10), 106(10)), the security is applied, and overstaying project goods are liable to seizure (reg 140(6)).

D.5 The ATA Carnet procedure (where accepted)

Where a country accepts ATA Carnets, the procedure is lighter: the holder presents the carnet at entry; customs detaches and stamps the importation voucher (no local security — the ICC chain guarantees); the goods are used; at exit customs stamps the re-exportation voucher; the matched counterfoils discharge the carnet. If goods are not re-exported, the National Guaranteeing Association pays the duties and recovers from the holder. In Zimbabwe, use this route only if carnet acceptance is confirmed (see the flag in B.4); otherwise proceed under Section 124 with local security.

Temporary importation rarely results in a payment — its whole point is that, done correctly, nothing is paid. What is computed is the security: the amount of duty, surtax and VAT that would be payable, which the importer must lodge as a deposit or bond. The computations below therefore show how to size the security, and then what happens to that figure on successful re-export versus on overstay.

All worked examples use the VAT standard rate of 15.5% (with effect from 1 January 2026) on the Duty Paid Value, per Section 6(1)(b)/12A of the VAT Act. Customs duty and surtax rates are tariff-line specific and edition-specific; they are shown here as clearly flagged placeholders to be confirmed against the current Tariff Notice (the project edition is SI 203 of 2022) for the actual heading — never assume a rate.

E.1 Example 1 — A leased drill rig imported for a mining contract (Section 124 / reg 140)

Facts. A South African drilling contractor brings a track-mounted drill rig into Zimbabwe through Beitbridge to perform an 8-month exploration contract for a Zimbabwean mining house, intending to re-export it to South Africa at the end. The rig is leased, not sold. Transaction/lease value evidence puts the rig's value at USD 180,000 FOB Johannesburg; freight to Beitbridge USD 4,000; insurance USD 1,000.

Because the stay is 8 months (within Section 124'Section 12 months) and there is an approved mining contract, the contractor applies under Section 124 (or reg 140 if the project carries Ministerial approval). The officer must size the security = the suspended duty + surtax + VAT.

Step 1 FOB (Johannesburg) = USD 180,000
 (declaration in USD; no FX conversion needed.
 If invoiced in ZAR, convert at the ZIMRA Rate of Exchange
 for Customs Purposes for the relevant fortnight — state period.)
Step 2 + Insurance = USD 1,000
 + Freight to place of importation (Beitbridge) = USD 4,000
 = CIF = USD 185,000
Step 3 First Schedule valuation adjustments -> Customs Value (VDP) = USD 185,000
 (transaction/lease value accepted; no additions)
Step 4 Customs duty = VDP x duty rate for the rig's tariff line
 e.g. heading 8430 / 8705-type plant
 Assume duty rate = R_d% -> Duty = 185,000 x R_d%
Step 5 Surtax = (prescribed base) x surtax rate (if listed) =
Step 6 Excise = none (not an excisable good) = USD 0
Step 7 DPV = VDP + duty + surtax + excise
 = 185,000 + (185,000 x R_d%)
Step 8 VAT on import = DPV x 15.5% (Section 6(1)(b) VAT Act, from 1 Jan 2026)
Step 9 Other levies = none
 SECURITY REQUIRED = duty + surtax + excise + import VAT
 = (185,000 x R_d%) + [185,000 + 185,000 x R_d%] x 15.5%

Numerical illustration (purely to show the arithmetic — substitute the confirmed rate). Suppose the confirmed tariff-line duty rate were 10% and surtax nil:

Duty = 185,000 x 10% = USD 18,500
DPV = 185,000 + 18,500 = USD 203,500
Import VAT = 203,500 x 15.5% = USD 31,542.50
SECURITY = 18,500 + 31,542.50 = USD 50,042.50

Outcomes: - Re-exported within 8 months, rig identified at Beitbridge on exit: the Commissioner finally remits the duty (Section 124); the USD 50,042.50 security is released. Net cost to the contractor: nil duty/VAT (plus any bond fee). - Overstays / sold to the mining house without permission: the full USD 50,042.50 (recomputed on import-time value) becomes payable, the security is forfeited/applied, and the rig is liable to seizure (reg 140(6)). If the contractor legitimately decides to sell the rig to the mine, it must obtain prior written permission and pay duty (reg 140(3)) — possibly on a depreciated value (reg 140(4)). - Rig destroyed in an accident on site: the Commissioner may remit under Section 120(3)(b) on proof of the accident.

E.2 Example 2 — A tourist's caravan and quad bike (regulation 104)

Facts. A Botswanan family enters at Plumtree for a 3-week holiday towing a caravan (heading 87.03/87.16 type) and carrying a quad bike (heading 87.11), both for personal use, value USD 12,000 combined, CIF at the border. They are tourists (non-residents) under reg 104.

Step 1-3 Customs Value (VDP) = USD 12,000
Step 4 Notional duty = 12,000 x R_d%
Step 7 DPV = 12,000 + duty
Step 8 Notional VAT = DPV x 15.5%
 SECURITY (if required) = duty + VAT (reg 104(3))

Under reg 104 the goods enter under rebate for personal use; the Commissioner may require security to cover the duty pending export (reg 104(3)). The family must export the goods on first departure or within 12 months (reg 104(10)); they may not sell the quad bike to a Zimbabwean resident without permission and full duty (reg 104(4)). If the caravan is wrecked in an accident, they may surrender it unconditionally to the Commissioner for remission of the duty (reg 104(2) proviso, (8)). Provided they drive out with both items within three weeks, no duty or VAT is paid and any deposit is refunded.

E.3 Example 3 — Commercial travellers' samples (regulation 106)

Facts. A representative of a Zambian textile firm visits Harare with sample garments worth USD 3,000 to take orders; the samples are not for sale.

Under reg 106 the rebate is granted; a deposit sufficient to cover the duty is lodged (reg 106(9)); a duplicate identification list is stamped (reg 106(8)). If the samples are re-exported within 12 months, the deposit is refunded after export examination (reg 106(11)). If they are not exported within 12 months, they are entered for consumption and the rep is liable for the full duty on the USD 3,000 value at importation (reg 106(10)).

Notional duty = 3,000 x R_d%
DPV = 3,000 + duty
Notional VAT = DPV x 15.5%
DEPOSIT lodged = duty (+ VAT, since Section 40(3) folds VAT into "duty")
On timely export -> deposit refunded; nothing paid
On overstay -> full duty + VAT becomes payable; deposit applied

E.4 Contrast — temporary admission vs ordinary home consumption

The teaching value of the worked examples is the comparison. Take the drill rig at the illustrative 10% rate:

	Home consumption (permanent import)	Temporary admission (Section 124 / reg 140)
Duty	USD 18,500 paid	USD 18,500 suspended/secured
Import VAT (15.5%)	USD 31,542.50 paid	USD 31,542.50 suspended/secured
Cash to ZIMRA at border	USD 50,042.50	USD 0 (security lodged, refundable)
On re-export	No refund (unless drawback)	Final remission; security released
Net cost if re-exported on time	USD 50,042.50	≈ nil

The quantified saving — USD 50,042.50 of working capital not tied up in tax — is exactly why contractors, exhibitors and tourists use temporary admission, and exactly why ZIMRA secures and polices it.

Temporary importation touches every taxpayer group, but the compliance burden, documentary threshold and risk profile differ sharply across them.

F.1 Individual travellers and tourists

The most common temporary admission in Zimbabwe is the tourist's vehicle entering at Plumtree, Beitbridge, Victoria Falls, Kazungula or Chirundu. A Botswanan, South African or Zambian visitor towing a caravan or carrying a quad bike, jet-ski or camping equipment clears under reg 104: a declaration, identification of the vehicle (registration, chassis number), and security where the officer requires it. The visitor's obligations are simple but strict — use for personal purposes only, no sale to residents, export on departure or within 12 months. The risk theme here is the "tourist vehicle that never leaves": a vehicle driven in on a temporary basis and quietly sold into the local market without duty. ZIMRA polices this through TIP acquittal at exit borders and cross-checks of vehicles still showing open temporary permits. Note the separate regime for someone who stops being a tourist and becomes an immigrant — they move from reg 104 (temporary) to reg 105 (immigrant's effects rebate), a different relief covered in the Travellers & Returning Residents lesson.

F.2 Small cross-border traders and commercial travellers

The Zambian or Mozambican commercial traveller carrying samples to take orders uses reg 106: a deposit covering the duty, a stamped identification list, export within 12 months. The compliance burden is light but the identification discipline is essential — the duplicate list, stamped and initialled, is what allows the deposit to be refunded on export. The risk theme is samples sold rather than re-exported, converting a duty-free order-taking visit into an untaxed importation.

F.3 SMEs — contractors, event organisers, service firms

An SME civil-works contractor importing a concrete pump or formwork system for a 6-month build, an events company importing staging, lighting and PA equipment for the Harare International Festival of the Arts, or a survey firm importing GPS and drone equipment for a mapping contract, all use Section 124 (or reg 140 if the works are an approved project). For SMEs the binding constraints are security cost (a deposit ties up cash; a surety bond costs a premium) and deadline management. The professional clearing agent's value-add is structuring the admission under the right regime (reg 140'Section 5-year horizon for a long project vs Section 124'Section 12 months) and diarising the acquittal so the security is recovered.

F.4 Large corporates — mining houses, manufacturers, broadcasters

The highest-value temporary admissions are corporate: a mining house importing leased drill rigs, draglines or processing modules for an exploration or expansion programme under reg 140; a manufacturer importing machinery for installation and commissioning that will be re-exported after a trial; an international broadcaster bringing outside-broadcast vans, cameras and satellite uplinks to cover a summit or a sporting event under Section 124's "approved purpose"; an airline or freight operator moving ULDs and ground equipment. Here the figures are large (six and seven figures of suspended duty and VAT), the security is usually a corporate surety bond, and the documentary threshold is high (lease agreements, project approvals, asset registers, serial-number schedules). The risk theme is scope and time creep — equipment that drifts from "temporary project use" into permanent deployment, or whose security lapses while the asset stays. ZIMRA's post-clearance audit function (covered later in the chapter) routinely tests open and recently-closed temporary admissions against re-export evidence.

F.5 Diplomatic, NGO and event-specific admissions

Diplomatic missions and accredited NGOs importing equipment for time-bound programmes, and organisers importing goods for international exhibitions and trade fairs, are natural temporary-admission users; where an ATA-equivalent or carnet facility is unavailable, they proceed under Section 124 with security, often with the suspended charge ultimately remitted or separately relieved under a privileged-person rebate (a topic developed in the Diplomatic & NGO Privileged Imports lesson).

Zimbabwean reported authority dealing squarely with Section 124 temporary importation is sparse, and this lesson will not manufacture a citation. The governing law is therefore principally statutory and regulatory (Section 124, Sections 40, 120, 217; regs 104, 106, 140), supplemented by general customs principles affirmed in the Fiscal Appeal Court and the superior courts on adjacent questions (valuation, the burden of proof under Section 121, and forfeiture). The following persuasive and principle-level points apply:

• Burden of proof on the claimant (Section 121). It is a settled principle of Zimbabwean customs law that a person claiming any relief — including a temporary-admission rebate and the final remission on re-export — bears the burden of proving entitlement. In practice this means the importer who cannot produce acceptable proof of export loses the remission and pays the secured charge, regardless of whether the goods in fact left. The lesson: keep and lodge the acquitted TIP / endorsed export evidence.

• Strict construction of conditional reliefs (persuasive — South African SCA). South African appellate authority on the closely-cognate temporary-admission and rebate provisions of the South African Customs and Excise Act consistently holds that rebate and temporary-admission conditions are construed strictly against the importer, because they are exceptions to the general duty-paying rule. Labelled non-binding, this reasoning is highly persuasive in Zimbabwe given the shared statutory heritage: a temporary admission that breaches a condition (overstay, unauthorised disposal, failure to identify) forfeits the relief in full, not pro rata.

• Identity of the goods (principle). The remission attaches to the goods that were temporarily imported, not to equivalent goods. Where an importer re-exports a substitute, the remission fails for want of identity — the conceptual basis for ZIMRA's insistence on serial/chassis-number identification at both import and export.

1. Treating "temporary" as "duty-free". The single most damaging error. Temporary admission is duty-suspended-and-secured, not forgiven. Agents who tell clients "no duty on a temporary import" set them up for the full charge plus penalties on overstay. Correct practice: quote the client the secured amount and the deadline.
2. Under-sizing the security by omitting VAT. Because Section 40(3) folds import VAT (15.5% from 1 Jan 2026) into "duty", security must cover duty + surtax + VAT. A bond computed on duty alone is under-secured and the clearance will not finalise — and if it slips through, the revenue is exposed.
3. Missing the re-export deadline. The 12-month (Section 124 / regs 104, 106) or project-completion-≤5-year (reg 140) clock is unforgiving. Diarise the expiry and apply for any extension before it lapses. After expiry the goods are deemed entered for consumption and the charge crystallises on the import-time value (regs 104(10), 106(10)).
4. Unauthorised local disposal. Selling, hiring, lending or pledging the goods to a resident without prior written permission and payment of full duty (regs 104(4), 140(3)) triggers full duty and seizure. The legitimate route to keep the goods is to regularise them — enter for consumption, or use Section 226(a) proviso (iii) to enter under an available conditional relief.
5. Poor identification. Failing to record serial/chassis numbers and photographs at import dooms the acquittal at export, because customs cannot confirm the same goods are leaving. This also enables the "swap" fraud the system fears most.
6. Wrong regime / wrong CPC. Clearing a 3-year project's plant under bare Section 124 (12-month ceiling) instead of reg 140 (≤5 years) forces a premature crystallisation; clearing reg-141 incorporated construction materials as if they were temporary (they are permanent and not re-exported) is a category error. Match the regime to the facts and select the correct ASYCUDA CPC.
7. Ignoring import-control permits. Temporary admission relieves duty, not controls. A temporarily imported firearm, radio transmitter, drone, controlled chemical or CITES specimen still needs its permit/licence — the prohibited/restricted regime (covered later) applies regardless of duty treatment.
8. Assuming an ATA Carnet will clear at a Zimbabwean border. Presenting a carnet where it is not accepted leaves the trader with no valid clearance. Confirm Zimbabwe's carnet status (see the flag) and, where it is unavailable, default to Section 124 with local security.
9. No proof of export. The remission is evidence-dependent (Section 124, Section 121). Re-exporting the goods but failing to acquit the TIP / obtain endorsed export proof means the security is not released and the charge may be demanded. Always close the loop at the exit border.

Work through the questions one at a time. Choose an answer and it is graded immediately, with an explanation and the provision it comes from. Your progress is saved, so you can stop and resume.

• Section 124 of the Customs and Excise Act [Chapter 23:02] is the core power: the Commissioner may permit temporary importation without payment of duty for repair or any approved purpose, and finally remit the duty if the goods are re-exported within a fixed period not exceeding 12 months, on proof of export.
• Temporary importation is a suspension secured by a bond, not an exemption: the duty, surtax and VAT-on-import (15.5% from 1 January 2026) are held in suspense and secured (Sections 217/83), and crystallise in full on the import-time value if the goods overstay or are disposed of locally.
• Section 40(2) relaxes the entry formalities (declaration/TIP, not a full Form 21); Section 40(3) folds import VAT into "duty", so security must cover the whole tax stack; Section 54 proviso (i) relaxes the export formalities on the way out.
• The General Regulations provide named regimes with their own conditions and clocks: reg 104 (tourists — 12 months; no disposal to residents; vehicle surrender on damage), reg 106 (commercial samples — deposit; 12 months), reg 133 (destructive-testing samples), and reg 140 (approved-project goods — up to 5 years; seizure on overstay). Distinguish reg 140 (temporary, re-exported) from reg 141 (permanent incorporation).
• Identification of the actual goods (serial/chassis numbers, photographs) at both import and export is what makes the final remission possible; proof of export is essential because the burden lies on the importer (Section 121).
• Where damage strikes, Section 120(3)(b) allows remission for seriously damaged Section 124 goods, and reg 104(8) allows surrender of a damaged tourist vehicle.
• The ATA Carnet is the international facilitation tool (ATA Convention 1961 / Istanbul Convention 1990, WCO/ICC), but its usefulness at a Zimbabwean border depends on Zimbabwe's accession/chain membership — confirm before relying on it; otherwise use Section 124 with local security.
• Big-picture: temporary importation is Zimbabwe's instrument of trade facilitation consistent with the Revised Kyoto Convention (Specific Annex G) and the WTO TFA — it lets the country host contractors, exhibitions, broadcasters and tourists, and supports the mining, construction, events and tourism sectors, without permanently taxing goods that were never meant to stay, while protecting the revenue through security and identification.

Table 1 — The temporary-admission regimes at a glance

Regime	Source	Who / what	Max period	Security / deposit	Re-export obligation	On breach
General temporary import	Section 124 C&E Act	Repair, exhibition, demonstration, professional/project equipment	≤ 12 months (Commissioner-fixed)	Bond/deposit = duty + surtax + VAT	Re-export + proof → final remission	Full duty on import-time value; security applied
Tourist goods & vehicles	reg 104	Non-resident tourist; personal use; vehicles HS 87.02/87.03/87.04/87.11	Export on departure / 12 months	Security may be required (reg 104(3))	Export on departure or within 12 months	Full duty; seizure; vehicle surrender option if damaged
Commercial travellers' samples	reg 106	Order-taking samples, not for sale	12 months	Deposit covering duty (reg 106(9))	Export within 12 months	Entered for consumption; full duty on import-time value
Samples for destructive testing	reg 133	Samples consumed in testing	n/a (consumed)	Certificate of sole purpose	None (destroyed in test)	Relief lost if not genuinely tested
Approved-project goods	reg 140	Contractor's plant/equipment for Minister-approved project	Project completion, ≤ 5 years	Bond; depreciated duty on disposal	Re-export at expiry unless extended	Seizure (reg 140(6)); full duty on disposal
Incorporated construction goods (contrast — permanent)	reg 141	Materials forming a permanent part of the project	n/a (stay permanently)	n/a	None — goods remain	Rebate payable in full if not used (reg 141(3))

Table 2 — Temporary admission vs ordinary home consumption (the working-capital comparison)

Feature	Home consumption	Temporary admission
Duty / surtax / VAT at border	Paid	Suspended & secured
Document	Form 21 bill of entry	Declaration / Temporary Import Permit (Section 40(2))
Value declaration	Required	Dispensed with (reg 24(1)(c))
Cash to ZIMRA at border	Full charge	Nil (refundable security lodged)
On export	No refund (unless drawback)	Final remission; security released
Identification of goods	Not critical	Critical (serial/chassis, photos)
Net cost if re-exported on time	Full charge	≈ nil

Diagram — Temporary importation clearance and acquittal flow (ASYCUDA World)

flowchart TD
 A[Goods arrive at border or airport] --> B[Apply for temporary admission under Section 124 or reg 104/106/140]
 B --> C[Lodge declaration in ASYCUDA World under temporary-import CPC]
 C --> D[Attach docs invoice or lease BL or AWB packing list project approval identification]
 D --> E{Risk targeting lane}
 E -->|Green| F[Release - rare for temporary admissions]
 E -->|Yellow| G[Document check purpose and value]
 E -->|Red| H[Physical exam - record serial and chassis numbers]
 G --> I[Size security = duty + surtax + VAT on DPV]
 H --> I
 F --> I
 I --> J[Lodge cash deposit or surety bond Sections 217 and 83]
 J --> K[Issue Temporary Import Permit with expiry date]
 K --> L[Use for approved purpose only - no local disposal]
 L --> M{Re-export within the fixed period?}
 M -->|Yes - goods identified at exit| N[Acquit TIP and prove export]
 N --> O[Commissioner finally remits duty - security released]
 M -->|No - overstay or local disposal| P[Goods deemed entered for consumption]
 P --> Q[Full duty surtax and VAT on import-time value - security applied - seizure for reg 140]
 M -->|Goods seriously damaged| R[Remission Section 120 3 b or vehicle surrender reg 104 8]

Statutes & sections — Customs and Excise Act [Chapter 23:02] - Section 124 — Temporary imports free of duty: Commissioner may permit temporary importation without payment of duty for repair or any approved purpose; final remission if exported within a fixed period ≤ 12 months on proof of export (amended by Act 17 of 1999). - Section 40(2)(a) — presentation of a bill of entry may be dispensed with where goods are imported temporarily; entry effected as prescribed / as the Commissioner directs. - Section 40(3) — "duty" for entry purposes includes import tax under the VAT Act [Chapter 23:12] (amended by Act 12 of 2002). - Section 120(3)(b) — remission of all/part of duty on goods temporarily imported under Section 124 that are seriously damaged by accident or circumstances beyond the importer's control. - Section 121 — burden of proof on the claimant for any exemption, drawback, rebate, refund or remission. - Section 217 — security for the due observance of the Act (importers, agents, carriers); read with Section 83 (security on removal/handling, cross-referenced in the General Regulations). - Section 226(a) proviso (iii) — goods remain eligible for entry under a conditional suspension, rebate or remission notwithstanding earlier temporary importation under Section 124. - Section 54 proviso (i) — export bill of entry may be dispensed with where goods are to be exported temporarily or after special temporary clearance. - VAT Act [Chapter 23:12], Section 6(1)(b) read with Section 12A — VAT on importation; standard rate 15.5% with effect from 1 January 2026 (used to size suspended VAT in the security).

Regulations & Statutory Instruments — Customs and Excise General Regulations - reg 24(1)(c) — value declaration dispensed with for goods imported temporarily under Section 124. - reg 104 — rebate of duty for tourists (definition of "tourist"; vehicles HS 87.02/87.03/87.04/87.11; security; no disposal to residents; export on departure/12 months; damaged-vehicle surrender). - reg 106 — rebate for commercial travellers' samples (bona fide samples for order-taking; deposit; identification list; 12-month limit). - reg 133 — rebate for samples imported for destructive testing (certificate of sole purpose). - reg 140 — rebate for goods temporarily imported by contractors for an approved project (Ministerial approval; completion ≤ 5 years; no disposal without permission; seizure on overstay). - reg 141 — rebate for goods incorporated in the construction of approved projects (permanent incorporation; rebate repayable if not used) — included as a contrast. - reg 142 — rebate on capital equipment imported for an export processing zone (contrast). - General Regulations clearance provision for travellers' samples, tourists' effects and tourist vehicles imported temporarily (declaration + security for export within 12 months or payment failing export).

Tariff Notice - SI 203 of 2022 — Customs and Excise (Tariff) Notice / Tariff Handbook (the edition in the project archive). Tariff lines and duty/surtax rates for specific goods (e.g., drilling/quarrying plant, vehicles, garments) must be confirmed against this Notice for the relevant period; all duty rates in the worked examples are flagged illustrative placeholders.

International instruments - ATA Convention (Brussels, 1961) and Istanbul Convention on Temporary Admission (1990) — the ATA Carnet system (professional equipment, exhibition goods, commercial samples), administered by the WCO, guaranteed through the ICC World Chambers Federation. (Zimbabwe's accession / carnet-acceptance status flagged for verification.) - Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC), Specific Annex G — temporary admission (global best-practice template). - WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) — expedited, predictable procedures, including for temporary admission of professional and exhibition goods.

Case law - No on-point Zimbabwean temporary-importation case is asserted; the area is governed by statute and regulation. Persuasive South African SCA authority on the strict construction of rebate / temporary-admission conditions is non-binding but instructive. (Any specific Zimbabwean case to be confirmed against a law report before citation — see verification flag.)

ZIMRA guidance - ZIMRA Temporary Import Permit (TIP) procedures; ASYCUDA World Customs Procedure Codes for temporary importation (exact CPC to be confirmed against ZIMRA's current CPC list); ZIMRA Rates of Exchange for Customs Purposes (fortnightly) for currency conversion in security computations; ZIMRA public notices on tourist-vehicle temporary admission at land borders.